Field-fence



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL S. CURTISS, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN.

FIELD-FENCE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,709, dated January 25, 1859*.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL S. CURTISS, of Madison, in the county of Dane and State of INisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Constructing and Putting up Portable Field-Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which compose part of this specification, in wliich- Figure 1 represents the ground or running plan; Fig. 2, opposite ends of two panels, prepared and designed to be locked together; and Fig. 3 a perspective view of the corner of the fence, when two panels are properly locked and wedged together.4

A, A, represent the common fence boards; B B, the battens or slats;v C, c, the key or wedge, and the groove in which it is placed in the edge of the board under it, to keep it more firm in its place; a a, the notched or dovewtailed ends of the boards; I) D, the beveled edges of the upright battens.

Now, with all proper disclaimers-being aware that panels of boards and planks and battens have long been used for fences, I do not claim that as part of my inventionand knowing also that various devices have been employed to facilitate their easy movable character, I do not claim any of the previous modes of putting up and attaching thepanels. But, to enable those accus tomed to making fences to understand and construct my invention, I will here proceedv to describe its construction and operation.

I take common fence boards-or other materials capable of being wrought into the same form of fence-and cut a dove-tail notch several inches long, and about half the width of the board; then on one end of the board nail two battens, with bevel edges, far enough apart to leave a space that will admit the opposite end of another panel, which has nailed onto it one hatten also beveled; then when the panels are thus attached or locked by the dove-tailed notches, a key or wedge is crowded into one of the spaces between the boards of the different panels,

which presses the bottom of one board and the top of the one neXt below it, which is prepared with a groove in its upper edge corresponding to and to admit the bevel edge of the wedge or key, thus crowding them so tightly together' that the panels cannot be separated without taking out the key. IVhat, I claim, therefore, as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- The mode of notching the ends of the rails and keying together the ends of the panels, in the manner and for the purpose herein described and set forth.

DANIEL S. CURTISS. lVitnesses.

Damian READ, Gr. Il. LUNDY. 

